Uruguay smash Tahiti with eight goal to reach semis

2′ Abel Hernández 24′ Abel Hernández 27′ Diego Pérez 45+1′ Abel Hernández 61′ N. Lodeiro 67′ (PG) Abel Hernández 82′ Luis Suárez 90′ Luis Suárez

Uruguay ambled into the semi-finals of the Confederations Cup with a straightforward 8-0 win over Tahiti at Arena Pernambuco. Abel Hernandez opened the scoring with the fastest goal in the competition's history after 79 seconds and a Diego Perez finish came between his other two strikes which ensured the South Americans took a four-goal lead into half time. Andres Scotti missed a penalty early in the second half and was then sent off for a second yellow card one minute later, while Teheivarii Ludivion was also shown red for the Oceania champions before Nicolas Lodeiro, Hernandez with his fourth, and a Luis Suarez double wrapped up the win in comfortable fashion.

 Perez was the next player to spring the offside trap, getting his head on Gargano's cross and tapping home from close range after his initial nod hit the post. Uruguay stepped off the gas again and Tahiti took the opportunity to get forward, but Marama Vahirua and Steevy Chong Hue were unable to make the most of the chances that came their way. Any momentum gained was taken away in first-half stoppage time, though, as Gargano released Hernandez with a cutting pass and the striker poked the ball into the bottom corner to complete his hat-trick. After the interval it looked as though Oscar Tabarez's men would add their fifth goal when the referee pointed to the spot in the 50th minute following Nicolas Vallar's foul on Matias Aguirregaray, but things did not go to plan.

 Meriel denied Hernandez the record of becoming the first player to score five goals in a single Confederations Cup game with a great save, but substitute Suarez was not to be kept out eight minutes from time as he turned Henri Caroine inside out and rolled the ball into the bottom corner. Suarez then added his second with a tidy finish from the top of the box in the final minute of normal time, becoming Uruguay's all-time highest-scoring player in the process with 35 goals. Uruguay's win sees them finish second in Group B, setting up a semi-final encounter with hosts Brazil. Tahiti, meanwhile, held up a banner to thank their hosts after the full-time whistle, and will return to French Polynesia having won the hearts of both the host nation and the watching world with their efforts during the tournament.

Barcelona must be beaming about Neymar - Scolari

Luiz Felipe Scolari has told Barcelona fans that they should be excited about the prospect of Neymar representing their club next term. The Brazil forward scored an excellent second-half free kick to help the Selecao to victory and underline his credentials as one of the world's most exciting young players. And his coach was full of praise for the striker, who sealed a big-money move to Camp Nou at the end of May. "Neymar is an idol for all Brazilians," the 64-year-old trainer told a press conference. "

 "He had lots of moments of quality, but what decided the game was the free kick," the former Chelsea boss continued. "He noticed [Gianluigi] Buffon had taken a step to the side and put the ball on the other side. Only players who have that kind of notion, that we can call genius, are the ones who make the difference. And he makes the difference. "Maybe you weren't seeing it before, but the other players were. 

 The Brazil forward scored an excellent second-half free kick to help the Selecao to victory and underline his credentials as one of the world's most exciting young players. And his coach was full of praise for the striker, who sealed a big-money move to Camp Nou at the end of May. "Neymar is an idol for all Brazilians," the 64-year-old trainer told a press conference. 

. "He had lots of moments of quality, but what decided the game was the free kick," the former Chelsea boss continued. "He noticed [Gianluigi] Buffon had taken a step to the side and put the ball on the other side. Only players who have that kind of notion, that we can call genius, are the ones who make the difference. And he makes the difference. "Maybe you weren't seeing it before, but the other players were. He's a team player, and as a team player he is phenomenal. "I hope to see the whole team improving. Neymar has been playing well and he's adding virtues to the team that we always knew he had, but that he could develop further. "But the team needs to grow as a whole, and in doing so Neymar will grow with us."

Nigeria 0-3 Spain: Jordi Alba and Torres ensure world champions top Group B

Spain wrapped up their group stage campaign of the Confederations Cup with ease after recording a comfortable 3-0 victory over Nigeria at the Estadio Castelao Fortaleza A brilliant solo double from Jordi Alba and a header from substitute Fernando Torres sealed the victory over a disappointing Super Eagles side, who were undone by their own inability to finish the numerous chances that came their way.  However, the early barrage continued, with Jordi Alba opening the scoring two minutes later in scintillating fashion. Picking up the ball after a neat pass from Iniesta, the Barcelona full-back embarked on a fine run, slaloming past three Nigerian defenders before coolly slotting the ball past Enyeama to put La Roja 1-0 up. The African champions struggled in the opening exchanges, with Cesc Fabregas denied by Enyaema, but at the other end, they too saw a chance go begging, with Sergio Ramos hurriedly thwarting John Obi Mikel, after the ball had fallen to him following good work by Joseph Akpala. Stephen Keshi's side rallied, and were posing numerous problems for the world and European champions. Set through by Ideye Brown, Sunday Mba produced a stinging effort from distance which required Valdes to divert it away for a corner. But Spain continued to dominate in search for a second. First, Ramos' superb long ball picked out Roberto Soldado, whose brief hesitation allowed Enyeama to recover, before the Valencia striker's pin-point delivery off the wing for Fabregas, saw the latter strike against the post. Nigeria's profligate finishing continued early into the second half. Ahmed Musa's threatening delivery off the right flank picked out Brown in the middle, but somehow, the striker couldn't connect cleanly with the ball, though at the other end, Xavi flashed a free-kick narrowly over the bar as both sides' search for another goal continued. Just after the hour, Spain doubled their advantage. Torres, who had been only on the field for two minutes, capitalised on some poor defending to power a header from Pedro's fine cross. Nigeria began to tire towards the end of the second period, amidst the typical passing intensity imposed by their opponents, but they once again failed to beat Valdes in the Spain goal. Another teasing delivery from Musa saw substitute Muhammad Gambo to somehow fire horribly wide of the post. Alba wrapped up a fine performance with two minutes to go, latching onto David Silva's long pass to round Enyeama and into an empty net to seal an emphatic second and Spain's third. Spain top Group B with nine points, and will face Itay in a rematch of last year's Euro 2012 final in the last four on Thursday in Fortaleza.

Several police officers have suffered injuries as citizen protests during Saturday's Confederations Cup match between Brazil and Italy escalated to violence. Locals have staged demonstrations against the Brazilian government's funding of the eight-way World Cup dress rehearsal, in addition to the tournament actual in 2014 and the subsequent Olympics in 2016. The security threat to the host nation's final group game against the Azzurri had been aggravated to a point that officials were forced to deploy military enforcement in and around Mineirao. Proceedings kicked off in an atmosphere of relative peace nevertheless, as the home supporters initially celebrated their team's goals in the 4-2 demolition of Cesare Prandelli's men to top Group A. However, reports on local radio of the onrushing of a demonstration numbering 100,000 strong headed for the stadium from Belo Horizonte - the surrounding locale - incited a frenzy. Around 3,000 protesters directly engaged the police outside the complex. Authorities surrounding the stadium were bombarded by a myriad of objects ranging from rocks to crude bombs. Five policemen are estimated to have sustained injuries resulting from the assaults, adding to the dozens of civilian casualties and pair of deaths that have been inflicted so far. Brazil president Dilma Rousseff had appealed for the protesters to disengage in a television broadcast on Friday, citing funding for the World Cup was not drawn from tax income. Fifa, the competition's organisers, has decided against postponing the remaining fixtures, despite reports claiming a participating nation has requested for such.

Schalke interested in Fulham defender Riether

The 30-year-old defender has only recently made his loan spell at Craven Cottage permanent, but Shalke general manager Horst Heldt has revealed the Bundesliga side are interested in recruiting the former Koln man.

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